Home Design Style For A Joy Filled Home

In my last post, I shared 5 ways to live with joy after loss.… In all actuality, they were life applications to live with joy in general. One of the ways I mentioned was to: Create An Inviting And Comfortable Space. It’s important to create the kind of home design style that makes you happy.

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I talk about this a little in my book, Joy In Suffering:

This was a big factor for us: the apartment we moved to did not feel like an apartment. It felt like an actual house and a place we could call home. Its “old” feel and architecture brought us the warmth we needed. And this new place was where the bulk of my memories of mourning and seeking the Lord took place. The other apartment was cold and modern, lacking that hearth-like feel. I tend to be somewhat of a homebody, and though this move did not fix my broken heart, it did just what I expected it to. It became a place of repose.
Rosemary Pope, Joy In Suffering

If you are not the decorating type and have always struggled to be happy with the home or space you live in, you’ve come to the right place. Read along as I lay the foundation to decorating a joy filled home.

All my life I’ve been fascinated with home design and decorating. From how homes are made to fully furnished and decorated. I married into a family of builders which only fueled my passion for home design. For years I’ve watched home designs come to life. I’ve seen trends come and go… and even stay. In the past couple years I’ve had the opportunity to get my hands dirty with the family business and get creative in the home design process. I’ve had design elements come together beautifully and some that required extra attention and/or money to fix. It’s a process, but one I’m crazy about.

How To Know Which Home Design Style Is For You

In this post you will see several different popular and trending home design styles. I’m merely skimming the surface of the home decorating world, but by the end of this post you will hopefully have an idea of what kind of design style brings you joy. Once you know this, you can start implementing it into your home.

There is no one right or wrong way to decorate. There are so many different options and combinations. I know for me it’s hard when I hear someone say “Stained cabinets are out- White cabinets are in.” or “white walls are classic, unlike beige.” I cringe when I hear these types of statements because there are so many different styles out there. Don’t let what one person says crush your creative style to what brings you joy and happiness in your home.

12 Different Home Design Styles

1. Traditional

Think old-world and intricate details. Where the picture frames are just as worthy of looking at as much as the paintings they hold. Wall paper, dark woods, furniture with tufts and lots of gold. Also referred to as classic because this style has stood the test of time and has never really gone out of style. If you’re one to play it safe, this may be the style for you.

My in-laws captured this style well in their master bedroom. When my mother-in-law set out to redecorate her entire house, most of the furniture and decor stayed the same in this room. Even though it had been nearly 20 years, this room still made her smile.

Need some more inspiration for the traditional style? Check out these Traditionally-styled homes:

2. Modern Home Design Style

It’s safe to say this style was originally named mid-century mod and has a forward, futuristic look. Its clean, smooth lines give the appearance that less is more. It’s like a minimalist’s dream! Check out these articles if this design style sounds appealing to you.

3. Contemporary

All the interior design blogs have said it. The contemporary trend is hard to pin point. It’s always on the move to something different. Type in the search on Pinterest and you will see everyone has their own take on contemporary. In my opinion, the best way to describe it is to think of a hotel. Expensive or not, unless a hotel is really trying to have a specific vibe or feel, they tend to have a contemporary look to them… Can you blame them though? No hotel chain wants to be known as “out-dated.” Most try to stick with the trends.

4. French Country & Country Home Design Style

Some people may not classify french country and country together, but if you do a bit of searching the internet, you will find these are one in the same. The context I usually hear “country” in is used for more of a rustic, southwestern, or even a farmhouse style. The internet has told me different…. don’t we all use the internet as a source of research these days? wink, wink. Anyways, I do see why the “country” crosses so many styles. It brings an idea of raw textures and warmth that so many styles have.

So to explain the French Country in more detail… It does incorporate the raw textures with wood, brick or stone, but it still holds the class of traditional style. It’s like it mixes elegance and that down-to-earth feel making it seem like home. I think this is why it is so popular…. it’s the best of both worlds! The color palate is usually going to consist of earth tones with not a lot of pops in color.

Take a look at these links to see what I mean:

5. Shabby Chic

I like to think of shabby chic as a spin-off from traditional and french country home design styles. It’s full of floral arrangements and elegance, but mixed with a whole lot of DIY and re-purposing. You could say this is where the weathered furniture look began to take place. There is in fact a very distinct color palate in this style too. It’s so specific, it’s shocking. White is the base color filled with various shades of pastel blues and pinks with a hint of green. To me, this style is the epitome of girly and takes me back to childhood tea parties.

6. Modern Farmhouse Home Design Style

This is about as trendy as it gets right here. Lots of white on white, gray, brown, tan, with pops of black. Painted ship-lap is staple, weathered and re-purposed furniture, but with a hint of industrial metal and bringing the outdoor barn inside. Oh, and wood. Lots of it! Not always the dark-stained kind either. Early American stain or lighter has made a come back and is super popular. This is not an old-school farmhouse by any means, but it most certainly has that rustic feel about it.

7. Industrial

Your going to see this style a lot in old commercial buildings that have been converted into apartments. It’s very masculine with not a lot of fluff. The colors are usually dark and bold. Exposed brick, concrete, A/C Ducts, and metal are all key elements to this look. Although I’m not raising my hand to say this style is for me, I think we can all agree there is something fascinating by this look.

25 Gorgeous Industrial Interior Design Ideas For Your Home

8. Vintage Chic Home Design Style

Now here’s a style I will stand and raise my hand for! This trend has pops of color and is full of the real pieces from history. If you are wanting an authentic farmhouse style, this may just be for you…. I may get a few tomatoes thrown at me for this one. Oh well, please hear me out.

Back when I lived in West Texas, I became friends with someone who was raised on a farm. I’m not talk about a neat little hobby farm, but the kind where the wheat fields go on for miles. She took me back to her parent’s home one Memorial weekend and we also visited her grandparent’s place down the highway. They were some of the neatest homes I had ever seen. They weren’t anything fancy, but I felt like I stepped back in time as I admired their decor. Nearly everything had to have been 50-70+ years old and sure made me smile. It’s been years since visiting those homes, but I’ve never forgotten the charm the held.

13 Old Kitchen Features That Should Have Never Gone Out Of Style

9. Primitive

I contemplated combining this with vintage chic. There are a lot of similarities, but there is a difference. Primitive goes even further back in time than vintage chic. Think, back to the basics. What things looked like for the pioneers- that’s primitive. It’s a style that I am more in love with than the one before. There’s something dreamy about massive fireplaces as they were used for more than just warmth. Most were often used to cook with. Color schemes for this style don’t vary too much, though you will see the occasional pop of color- especially in quilts.

Rosemary’s Primitive Board on Pinterest

10. Global Chic Home Design Style

Global chic is decorating with pieces from around the world and creating it’s own style. It’s usually an eclectic one full of color, but somehow everything fits together. This style is unique and gives you something to talk about. Nearly every piece usually has a history that makes for great story telling.

Explore A Worldly Ranch In The Lone Star State

11. Boho Chic

Boho chic, is derived from the miscellaneous bohemian style. It’s safe to say many young people today don’t know where this style came from. Let me tell you… Bohemians are from the Czech region and were looked at as worse than gypsies. When talking with my husband about this blog post I mentioned “boho” as a style and he responded, “Wait, that’s a thing? How is that a style, it’s like living in a van!” My husband is part Czech and he proceeded to tell me that when his grandparents would have a disagreement, his grandpa would refer to his grandma as a “bohemian”. He wasn’t wrong, that is her decent, but it goes to show boho wasn’t always a good thing and a celebrated style like it is today.

Growing up I was drawn to the boho style, but didn’t know it had a name. I just loved all the colors of the rainbow being present and the maximist design with having so many things! Now days, this style has seen a transformation from the traditional boho ways. There aren’t as many colors on the palate and the amount of “things” has become somewhat minimal. So much so that people have started lumping it together with the Scandinavian style.

12. Scandinavian Home Design Style

The picture on the left is considered boho chic and the picture on the right is considered Scandinavian. The boho style on the left still has a mixture of textiles with all the designs on rugs, pillows, and blankets, but you can see the transformation to the Scandinavian style. The picture on the right is more plain for the most part. The color palate for the Scandinavian style is very simple. Usually a lot of white, with hints of tan and brown. Not much for patterns and has a very open and airy minimalist feel about it. Another key element for the Scandinavian style is bringing the outside in with green, leafy plants scattered through out the space.

What’s Your Home Design Style?

If you’ve made it this far in the post, I’m assuming you had just as much fun exploring styles as I did. I hope you took away that there is no one style for everyone and that’s okay. It’s freeing to know you don’t have to be tied to one popular style. You may have a cross of several different styles. I know I do. I don’t fall into one exact category. I’m more of a maximist at heart, while my husband is more of a minimalist. I try to incorporate a healthy balance of both in our home…. and that’s the key- finding what works and makes everyone happy.

So what’s your style? Did you already know what you liked? Did you see it on the list? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment below.

~Rosemary

2 thoughts on “Home Design Style For A Joy Filled Home”

Zoe Campos
October 28, 2020 at 3:55 pm

My favorite design that you mentioned in this article is probably the industrial home design. I really love it when dark and bold colors are involved since I honestly think it reflects my personality. Maybe I should take a note of this so I can inform my new home designer once I’ve hired one.

Rebecca Gardner
May 19, 2021 at 5:36 pm

I like how you explained the boho-chic style. My husband and I want to redesign our home. Thanks for teaching me about some style options to consider for the remodel!